Developmental Skills

Where is the Checkout?

Posted on October 28, 2015

You have unleashed your inner Sherlock Holmes during your search; every button has been clicked, every page has been visited, but it’s still not there. Where is the checkout? Every part of your brain says it should be there, up in the corner or down at the bottom, but your eyes cannot find it. After all, how can there be a website full of toys that does not have a shopping cart? It seems inconceivable!

Welcome to a website full of toys that does not have a “check out”.

At AblePlay.org, we are not here to sell toys. AblePlay is a resource, not retail. We are here to provide you comprehensive research, ratings and reviews on toys and play products for children of all abilities. Buying the right toy can be overwhelming and that is where AblePlay.org comes in handy! AblePlay was created so parents, friends, family members, educators, therapists and others can make the best decisions when purchasing products for children in their lives, especially children with special needs.

At Lekotek, the core of everything we hold dear is the belief that play helps kids learn, develop skills and reach milestones. As such, AblePlay is a resource that goes the distance to put more toys into the hands of children who can benefit from them.

So if you don’t sell, what do you do?

AblePlay is here to guide your toy purchases. We get you the facts as toy aficionados and child development experts. The National Lekotek Center brings together a diverse and experienced team combining strong marketing experience, child development expertise and in-depth knowledge of the toy industry. We are play experts, friends, moms, developmental specialists, uncles, toy judges, evaluators, aunts and grown-ups who are in touch with the kid inside all of us.

We understand that there are A LOT of toys out there to choose from, and it can be very overwhelming. For example: finding a ball. How hard can this be? It’s one of the most basic toys, and you can surely handle this on your own. Well what you thought was a simple search now has you debating whether you want plush, bouncy, inflatable, with pictures, without pictures, or light up? Should it whistle, should it rattle, should it play popular music, does it even have to be round? Is it for throwing, rolling or kicking? Before you know it you are juggling too many questions at once. That is why we are here. We are your jugglers.

In what might be the greatest profession on earth (You saw the movie “Big”, right?), it’s our job to understand toys, and play with as many as we can to give you the facts.

How do I navigate your site?

We have organized our toy reviews into 10 easy-to-navigate categories located on the side bar of the home page:

While most of these categories are pretty standard, there are two you might not be familiar with—adapted toys and “Great Finds.” Adapted toys are toys that are specially adapted for specific strengths of kids with different needs. Great finds are items that, while not necessarily toys, we view as a tool to help kids be more independent, promote inclusion or provide accessibility.

If you are looking for toys to help advance certain milestones, we have also divided up the AblePlay products into developmental categories:

Okay, So Where Can I Buy?

Every product on AblePlay.org has its own page, and on all of those pages we provide a specific website that is given to us by the manufacturer. This link lets you not only learn more about the product, but also find out about the company, its mission and view other products in the line.